J Maarten Troost opens this book with a brief explanation of the dissatisfaction he and his girlfriend (later wife) have with their current state of affairs, culminating in her taking a job with the FSP on Tarawa - a small atoll in the nation of Kiribati in the Central Pacific.

The remainder of the book presents a sometimes humorous, sometimes stark and bleak view of island life, culture and state of mind. The subject of excrement, whether in the form of the lagoon cum toilet (with its dual nature only discovered whilst Troost was swimming in it), or dumped soiled nappies, is never more than a couple of pages away.

The local customs, including the superstitions surrounding burning the aforementioned faeces, and the communistic bubuti (basically, you can ask someone else for their stuff and they must give it to you) are explained clearly, with a definite sense of the author's incredulity coming through the written words.

The islanders' spectacular ability to survive is also highlighted, unlike sex and cannibalism, which, despite the title, get no more than a few words each.

I was particularly interested in this book, as I was an I-Matang (white) boy there in the early 1970s, between the ages of two and four. My parents, who have also read the book, expressed sadness in the way the overcrowding and infrastructure seems to have gone downhill, as well as the racism shown by women Troost describes as "Bonriki wives" (wives of Australian I-Matang, who don't try to fit in and refer to the locals as "the blacks").

A funny yet informative read, which has dispelled any wish I had to return to the island. If sea levels rise as projected, time is running out for this bit of civilization. Troost's snapshot may prove an invaluable anthropological record of the islanders.